Neurodiversity and Situational Judgement Tests

September 2024

Could Situational Judgement Tests help to accommodate neurodiversity and create a more equitable hiring process?

Neurodiversity in Teaching

Neurodiverse individuals, including those with conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other cognitive or neurological differences, bring unique strengths and perspectives to a learning environment, Crucially, these educators can understand a diverse range of student needs, but a lack of representation is actively discouraging them from considering this career path.

A significant hurdle preventing many neurodiverse candidates from becoming teachers is the hiring process. The typical hiring process for teaching positions often relies heavily on traditional interviews and assessments that may not accommodate the unique strengths of neurodiverse individuals. 

One of the most effective ways to attract and retain diverse teaching candidates is to reach those who may not have considered teaching before and how they can have a real impact. It’s important to ensure they don’t self-select out of teaching because of their neurodiversity.

Crafting the hiring process to be better tailored for neurodiverse teacher candidates not only opens up the candidate pool, but can enrich the education experience for their students, fostering a more inclusive and diverse learning environment. 

Why can neurodiverse people make great teachers?

The innovative thinking and creative problem-solving skills of neurodivergent teachers can often lead to engaging and effective teaching methods. These teachers can be experts at innovative thinking and deconstructing complex ideas, promoting enhanced student engagement by making challenging concepts more accessible and interesting. This approach fosters critical thinking, supports diverse learning needs, and prepares students for real world problem solving. 

Neurodiverse teachers also have strong empathy and understanding for diverse learners, as they understand the unique barriers students may be facing. This helps create a more inclusive and supportive classroom where all students feel valued and understood. By making students feel valued no matter their learning style, students can in turn feel encouraged to engage fully and perform to the best of their abilities. 

Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs)

Fair and equitable hiring practices are at the forefront of the education industry as organisations seek to identify and hire the most suitable candidates. One type of assessment that has garnered a lot of attention in recruitment is the Situational Judgement Test. 

SJTs are psychological tests designed to assess judgement and decision-making. These tests can enable teacher education candidates to engage with realistic classroom scenarios that frequently occur in schools, and consider a range of possible responses. This helps identify those who possess critical soft skills, and a focus on situational responses provides a more objective view of a candidate’s potential. 

SJTs can also predict how candidates will perform in classroom settings, ensuring those who are hired in schools are better equipped to handle the challenges of teaching. This method promotes fairness and consistency, evaluating candidates against the same criteria. 

Studies have also identified strong links between SJT performance in the hiring process and performance in subsequent assessments. This validation of soft skills and decision-making abilities can alleviate anxieties in candidates who don’t always perform well in traditional interviews.

SJTS also has the ability to streamline the recruitment process, allowing for quick and large-scale initial screening of candidates and reducing the time needed for initial interviews. In an educational context, this would allow organisations to assess a greater number of candidates in a more inclusive and efficient manner than reviewing personal statements.

SJTs and Neurodiversity

Reduced Anxiety

SJTs allow candidates to respond in a controlled environment without the pressure of a face-to-face interview. This format can be less intimidating, and can reduce anxiety by providing a structured setting with clear scenarios and response options, benefitting those who perform better with routine and predictability. 

Focus on Practical Skills and Decision-Making

SJTs evaluate how candidates would handle specific, job-related situations, which aligns with the strengths of many neurodiverse individuals who excel in practical, real-world problem-solving. This approach offers a more objective assessment of a candidate’s ability to manage the demands of a teaching role, reducing bias. 

Reduced Emphasis on Social Norms and Non-Verbal Cues

Unlike traditional interviews that emphasise social skills and non-verbal cues, SJTs focus on judgement and decision-making. This allows neurodiverse candidates to demonstrate their teaching related skills, like classroom management or conflict resolutions, without the need for small talk or interpreting social cues. 

Reflection and Preparation

SJTs give candidates the chance to reflect on their responses and select an option which best represents their thoughts, which can be challenging in a traditional interview. By engaging with realistic classroom scenarios, neurodiverse teaching candidates can feel more prepared for the actual challenges of a teaching role, boosting confidence in their ability to handle them. 

 

How can we move forward?

For neurodiverse individuals to thrive as teachers, the education sector should embrace their unique ways of thinking. Teaching requires social intelligence but this can take many forms. Neurodiverse teachers are capable of giving clear instruction, empathy, and creative approaches to engaging students, without being as traditionally extroverted as the preconceived ideal of a teacher. Additionally, this overlooks the valuable contributions that neurodiverse individuals can make, which can only enrich the learning environment for all students. 

It’s important to recognise that neurodiversity is a spectrum and a broad umbrella term, encompassing a wide range of cognitive and neurological differences. To be truly inclusive, innovative hiring practises like Situational Judgement Tests (SJTs) can help organisations identify more rounded candidates at scale, who are likely to succeed in the classroom. 

By incorporating these SJTs into the teacher hiring process, there is potential for it to become more inclusive and better suited to identifying the unique strengths of a wider range of candidates. Embracing innovative assessment tools alongside traditional methods will not only support neurodiverse individuals in thriving as educators, but can also enrich the educational experience of students by encompassing a broad range of teaching methods and perspectives.

Find out more about T-Screen: https://teachersuccess.co.uk/t-screen/

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